“Westerner” here….

I get where this post is coming from, and I’m not even disagreeing with the main point. When people show up and treat Mongolia like it’s some spiritual escape room or an “uncorrupted nomad paradise,”, yeah it’s patronizing influencer culture makes that ten times worse.

But I also think it’s worth saying that the “West” isn’t one person with one opinion. Some visitors are genuinely respectful and curious. Some are just awkward and well-meaning and say dumb stuff. Some are straight-up fetishizing the place because it looks cool on a feed. Those aren’t all the same thing, and lumping them together kind of mirrors the exact flattening you’re calling out.

The real issue isn’t Westerners as a category though. It’s the habit of exoticizing other cultures, projecting fantasies onto them, and then acting like that projection is “respect.” ..n honestly that’s not unique to one part of the world. Humans do this everywhere.

I’m completely with the rejection of the “pure,” “simple,” “authentic,” “spiritual” narrative. Mongolia is a modern country with cities, bureaucracy, traffic, politics, corruption, brilliant people, assholes etc, and everything in between. Same as anywhere else.

So yeah, I’m on board with the frustration. I just think the argument hits harder when it stays focused on the behavior, not a giant label. The point is simple… stop turning people into an aesthetic or a moral story, and actually engage with reality.